As illustrated in FIG. 32, a conventional ultrasound imaging system includes a processing unit 1, a display unit 2, a cable 3 and a transducer unit or ultrasound probe 4.
The probe 4 is connected to the processing unit 1 via the cable 3. The processing unit 1 generally controls the transducer unit 4 for transmitting ultrasound pulses towards a region of interest in a patient and receiving the ultrasound pulses reflected from the patient. The processing unit 1 concurrently receives in real time the reflected ultrasound signals for further processing so as to display on the display unit 2 an image of the region of the interest.
In detail, the probe 4 further includes a predetermined number of transducer elements, which are grouped into channels for transmitting and receiving the ultrasound pulses. For 2-dimensional (2D) imaging data, a number of channels ranges from 64 to 256.
On the other hand, for 3-dimensional (3D) imaging data, a number of required channels often exceeds 1000's. In the above described conventional ultrasound imaging system, the probe 4 also houses a large number of electric elements such as circuits and other components for controlling the transmission and reception of the ultrasound pulses.
The above described electric elements undesirably generate wasteful heat in the probe. Because the wasteful heat conducts through the probe housing surfaces and the lens surfaces, these probe surfaces reach an undesirable or even harmful temperature during the operation of the ultrasound imaging system. For example, while an ultrasound technician holds the probe handle, the undesirable heat may cause his or her hand to sweat or burn. Consequently, not only the comfort and safety levels are decreased during the operation, but also the accuracy may be also affected due to the slippery holding surface. The undesirable heat also may affect a patient as the lens surfaces or other probe surfaces make contact on the patient's skin. As the wasteful heat reaches a certain level, the probe contacting surfaces may be even harmful from some skin damage due to burning.
Some prior art techniques have attempted to improve the probe temperature control by various means. These attempts have not yet reached a desirable efficiency and implementation.